11 Facts about Gangs

1. Today’s gangs are very sophisticated, crossing state lines to establish groups and recruit members as young as 10 years old in communities across the country.
2. Gangs use children because they know that whatever the child under thirteen does, he or she cannot go to jail.
3. 32.4% of all the nation's cities, suburban towns and rural areas experienced gang problems in 2008.
4. To gang members, graffiti is a marking of territorial boundaries and serves as a warning or challenge to a rival gang.
5. Many kids join gangs because they do not receive adequate family attention, the gang provides love, identity and status; in turn they develop loyalty to the gang.
6. Many different ethnic, racial and socioeconomic groups make up gangs.
7. A number of well-known, wide-spread gangs such as the Crips, the Bloods and 18th Street originated in LA.
8. Gangs remain the primary distributors of drugs throughout the U.S.
9. Gangs are associating with organized crime entities, such as Mexican drug organizations, Asian criminal groups and Russian organized crime groups.
10. The Department of Justice estimates there are approximately 27,900 gangs, with 774,000 members, impacting communities across the United States.
11. Incarceration of gang members often does little to disrupt their activities, since high-ranking gang members are often able to exert their power on the street from within prison.

Sources:

2008 National Youth Gang Survey